Playing games
by DreamRain-Letters
Summary: Ed is forced by Hughes to go to a bar with him and Roy. How will Roy react to seeing Ed there. How is Ed supposed to handle his feelings with Roy? Will Hughes have a plan to get them together? ..And what does everyone know that Ed doesn't?
1. Chapter 1

Ed looked in the mirror and let out a long nervous breath.

_Okay, you can do this. You can do it. Don't be nervous. Your just going out for some drinks with the guys. No big deal. _

Except it was a big deal. A huge deal actually.

-EARLIER THAT DAY—

Ed walked into Roy's office and paused when he made it in three feet. He smirked and leaned back on the door frame as he watched Hawkeye yelling at her boss about his lack of finished paperwork. It was pretty funny being on these ends of things for once. He crossed his arms and continued to watch as Roy leaned back farther and farther into his chair like a scared puppy. He couldn't help but laugh a little and then covered his mouth fast to try to stop any sound from coming out.

It hadn't worked. Both Hawkeye and Roy were now staring at him and it made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Uhh yeah… sorry to interrupt…" he said cheeks becoming a little red. Hawkeye's expression softened when she realized who it was and actually smile. Then she turned back to Roy with a death glare. He jumped back seeing the glare she gave him before she whirled around and left the room.

Ed kept his smirk and approached the older man's desk. "She….is scary." He said bluntly.

Roy nodded his head agreeing before shuddering a bit. That raised a chuckle from his subordinate.

He shook his head and looked over to Ed and sighed. "So Fullmetal, what brings you here?" he asked.

Ed seemed kind of surprised at the question and then shook his head. "Oh yeah, duh." He smiled slightly before he let his gaze fall back down to the desk and he tossed a report on it. "report." He said clearing his throat.

"You didn't blow up the city gain did you?" he asked smiling slightly.

Ed huffed and walked over to Roy's side of the desk and leaned up against it. Roy didn't seem to notice, either that or he just didn't acknowledge it. He watched as the dark eyelashes scanned the pages seemingly un-amused. He caught himself staring and he forced himself to look in the entirely other direction as a slight pink entered his cheeks.

He growled low to himself. Cursing for being so stupid and ogling over his boss. Roy looked up to see Ed gripping the table so tightly it turned his knuckles white.

"Fullmetal?" Roy asked smiling.

Ed whipped around fast. His voice had scared him and seeing Roy's expression he figured he probably guessed what he was doing. Ugh. He crossed his arms and forced himself to breath before he looked at his feet.

"What?" he asked irritably. He was going to give another reason he could for why he was talking to himself.

Roy raised an eyebrow and set the papers down. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when Havoc knocked and stuck his head in the door.

"Roy?" he asked.

Roy looked over and smiled. "Hello Havoc. What's up?"

"Were going out to lunch, want to come?"

"Uhh yeah. I'm just about finished up here. Give me a minute."

He turned back to Ed but was surprised when the strange look on his face had disappeared. What was left was the same bored, arrogant boy. He sighed and stood grabbing his coat off the table.

Ed turned around heading out the door.

"Oh Ed?" Roy asked.

Ed felt his heart flutter. He didn't know why. Just him saying his name was enough to smile. He turned around and faked annoyed.

"Yeah?" he asked flatly. Secretly his stomach was in knots as he looked over to the raven haired man slipping his hands through the sleeves of his blue military coat. He was smiling that extremely gorgeous smirk that made him want to kiss him and punch all at once.

He pouted his lips and put his hands together. "Please oh please do me a favor?" he asked sweetly.

Ed snorted but couldn't help but to smile. His body tingled at the words of the other man but he made himself stay focused.

"Please!" he pleaded walking up to Ed so he was standing only a couple feet in front of him. Trying to look sweet an innocent but failing miserably. He looked sexy and deviant.

_Favor? I'll do you a favor alright. If I got the chance to get you alone I swe-_

His subconscious was thrown aside by books being pushed into his arms.

"Could you drop these off at the library for me?" he asked super nicely smirking a smile that was full Roy Mustang.

"Oh.."Ed's smile was dropped into a frown as a wave of disappointment hit him. He felt like he had been slapped. Putting everything back into reality. He was only nice when he wanted something. He put on a fake smile wouldn't have done anything to convince a goose. But Roy hadn't seemed to notice. He was too busy talking to someone from out the open door.

He looked back at Ed expectedly and Ed shook his head slowly feeling slightly pissed off.

"Yeah sure." He said turning around and walking out the door and hurrying down the hall. Roy left behind him and went to stand with a group of people consisting of Havoc, Furey, Hawkeye, Breda, Fallman and Armstrong. He only looked back once to see Roy's huge warm smile. The one he only directed to his friends. It made his heart flutter. He loved that smile. It was gorgeous. Just as gorgeous as the man himself. But it made him just about as sad as it did happy.

The latest espionage in the office was starting to take a toll. He was so angry and disappointed. Mostly in himself. He didn't know how the man affected him so bad. But it made his heart ache and tears started welling up in his eyes. He walked away as quickly as he could.

"FULLMETAL!" Armstrong yelled across the hall successfully making Ed the center of attention for _everyone_ within that building. Ed stopped but didn't turn around. He felt his face get extremely hot but he was frozen. He was hoping none of them would no notice him. People were giving him funny looks and whispering among themselves but that's not what was really bothering him. It was those black eyes. He could feel them staring at his back. He knew that bastard just had to be getting off by this.

Ed waved to Armstrong quickly but kept his mouth shut tight before he continually rushed forward. He didn't trust himself to say anything, and frankly he just wanted out of here.

"huh.." Armstrong said confused. Everyone standing with him also had confused looks.

"Maybe he's busy?" Havoc said. The rest nodded their head and continued their conversation. That must have been like a kick start because the rest of the building also continued.

Ed sighed a sigh of relief. At least now he could get to the library and get of here as fast as he could.

That bastard really didn't care about him at all. He had pretended to be nice just so that he's do something for him. If he only knew... He knew the colonel didn't share the feelings he did for him. But time after time he gave his hopes up and ended getting hurt. It was bad enough having to hear him talk about his latest escapades with woman. But he did these pointless chores for him making him look just about as pathetic as felt. He closed his eyes and felt a tear roll own his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and held onto the books tighter.

He hadn't been looking where he was going and collided into someone in the middle of the hallway. The books flew out of his arms and were accompanied by a ton of papers.

"Oh shit sorry…" Ed said dropping to the floor to pick up his books. He looked up when the other person chuckled heartily.

Maes! He looked back down to the floor and continued to help Hughes pick up his papers. The group that was still standing by the door started busting out laughing again. All but Hawkeye who eyed Roy and Havoc dangerously for being such pricks.

That just made him feel even worse. Now they were fucking laughing at him?

Hughes looked over to Ed and creased his eyebrows. He looked extremely red and… were those tears? Ed was refusing to look at him and picking the stuff up hurriedly. He put his hand on Ed's shoulders and Ed froze.

"Ed…What's wrong?" Hughes asked.

_Dammit don't you cry…_

Ed felt tears run down his face despite himself. His body seemed to want to express his feeling where as for Ed he just wanted to bottle them up. He could cry alone later. He wiped his tears away quickly and nodded.

"I'm fine" he spat.

"Ed, you're not fine. What happened?" Hughes said softly.

Ed sighed had picked his books up and piled Hughes papers.

"…stupid prick colonel bastard…" he muttered under his breath. It was his fault he was crying.

Hughes features went serious. "What did he do?" he asked sharply.

Ed looked up confused at the tone and then he understood.

"He didn't do anything Hughes." He sighed.

"Ed if he-"

"He didn't touch me!" Ed yelled. He could understand how his initial thought would be that Roy did something but it also almost made him angry that he would think he couldn't defend himself.

Hughes looked at Ed frowning.

"He doesn't even look at me like that…" Ed said softly before looking down and standing up.

Hughes stood up grabbing his papers and smiled softly.

"Don't get yourself too down about it Ed. He's not one to catch on so quickly. Give it time."

Ed tensed and felt his face begin to flush realizing what Hughes had said. He didn't say it in so many words but he knew what he was saying none the less.

_Oh, I get it. Don't worry Ed. Roy isn't smart enough to realize you like him. It would probably take him awhile. Give it time, he'll come around. _

"Thanks Hughes." Ed muttered before walking around the man.

"Oh Ed?" Hughes said. Ed stopped.

"A couple of us are going to a bar tonight. Do you want to go." He asked

"I don't know. I—"

"Roy's going to be there." He added.

There was a pause.

"Uhh, sure." Ed said. He hadn't even meant to. He meant to say that cynical bastard could stick it up his ass for all he cared.

"Alright. Around seven then." Hughes said smiling before walking away to join the Roy posse.

Ed continued down the walkway and turned sharply. Once he was out of sight he took off running.

-Now—

So here he was. Straightening out his hair and hyperventilating in his bathroom mirror. He didn't want to go. He wanted to sit at home and crawl into a book and stay there. He didn't go out and socialize. It really wasn't his thing.

His body had said yes before he could even muster out any sensible words. He felt too bad about calling Hughes and telling him no so he opted he would just go and try his best to ignore the beautiful, older, blue eyed man he loved.

His brother had been ecstatic that he was going out. After Al had gotten his body back he moved in back with Winry. He'd known they were in love for a long time. Even before his brother had gotten his body.

Ever since Al had left, Ed felt more and more alone. Without the daily distraction of his brother he kind of became a hermit crab. His skin was beginning to become pail from lack of sunshine and the house was littered with books and old take out boxes. He almost never went outside, besides work, and basically lived off of Chinese food.

So when he called his brother, like he did every week, and had told him he was going out the younger Elric almost screeched with joy. Ed had told him it was no big deal but the guy wouldn't let it go.

He stared into the reflection with a frown. He bit the side of his cheek and sighed nervously. He had already ran his hand through his hair and redone the braid three times. He patted down his clothes a second time and tried a smile. Completely forced and not good enough to fool a thanksgiving ham. Just great.

He turned on the water and put both hands on the sides of the small sink, gripping them until his knuckles were white. He felt like vomiting and his head was buzzing annoyingly. He was probably having another panic attack. He closed his eyes tight trying to gain some control. He didn't know why he was so nervous. All he knew was he could feel the blood coming up into his face and could hear his heartbeat in his ear drums.

_Breath in, hold, breath out, repeat. _

After a few minutes he calmed himself enough to let him think. When he was a kid if he acted as though he didn't care about anything he was able to make it through calmly. So just act like it doesn't bother you. Just say whatever a lot, and laugh at everyone's jokes. And don't drink. Drinking is bad.

"Ed!"

He yelped and jumped almost three feet in the air. He turned toward the closed bathroom door like he was suspecting someone to just burst through. A few minutes he heard another knock. He clenched his fist and nodded his head.

Duh. The front door.

One more look into the mirror and the reminder to just be cool in his mind later and he was ready. He flung open the door dramatically and winced as it hit the wall.

_Okay so not _so_ dramatically…_

He walked to the living room and sat on the couch grabbing the remote. He adjusted the way he was sitting several times before sitting with one arm on the back of the couch and a leg slung over his knee.

"Come in." he yelled nonchalantly.

After a hesitant moment Maes opened the door and walked in. Ed looked over to Maes and gave him the best 'oh hey, whatever' look he could muster. Maes was wearing a nice long sleeved brown shirt and a matching pair of brown pants. He looked like the same old Maes. He looked to Ed confusingly and with a raised eyebrow.

Ed didn't say anything but set down the remote and got up off the couch. He stood leaning on the back of the couch and shoved one hand in his pocket. They stood a few moments in silence before, much to Ed's appreciation, Hughes spoke.

"Living here alone?" Maes asked looking around the apartment.

Ed felt a little self conscious and looked around too. There were books _everywhere._ There was a small TV in the living room, (which he never used), that had books on top of it. Stacking as high as they would go without falling. The table had books scattered along the empty Chinese boxes. The floors had a few more dozen piles of books. The kitchen was seemingly untouched and the dining room looked just like the living room.

"Uhh, yeah." He answered scratching the back of his head nervously. "Al moved out a while ago. In with Winry."

Meas nodded his head finally understanding. He smiled and gestured toward the door. "Shall we go then?" he asked.

A flash of panic skipped along the blondes face and Maes just laughed. 'Don't be so nervous Edward!" Maes said leading Ed out of the room.

Once they were outside the cool air instantly raised goose bumps. It was freezing. If he had actually been outside at night in the past three months Ed probably would have noticed. But as it was standing, he hadn't. So he hadn't known it was now becoming winter. He put his hands in his red jacket pockets and followed Maes to his car. He climbed in the passenger and waited for Maes to follow. He felt a little uncomfortable with the man. Even thought they had been pretty close with his search for Al's body, he hadn't talked to him for a long time. So it was kind of awkward.

It was kind of sad when he thought about it. Probably starting when Al got his body back he withdrew more and more. He had forgotten those who cared about him and gone into a Roy induced coma. After the successful transmutation of getting his brothers body back, he had decided it was finally time he pursue the things he always put off. Which was just about everything. That's when he had come to the conclusion of being in love with Roy.

Big mistake.

Everything had got down hill from there. He had always intended to tell Roy about it. It just never seemed to come up. He was waiting for the right moment.

Okay, so there had been plenty of right moments, but he was a big baby. And he may have just been scared shitless of rejection.

After awhile it didn't matter though. He began to actual become friends with the man, mostly due to the enormous amount of time he now had, and his woman adventureswere just enough to take the love confession and bury It about as deep as it would go. It was almost painfully obvious the colonel was straight. AND not looking for a serious relationship. So either way he was fucked.

He wasn't one to get played and the fact that all Mustang did _was_ play, encouraged him further to keep it inside. Far inside. And away from peering eyes. Well, Maes be the exception.

That guy was weird. Almost un-human, in his abilities. It had taken him all but three minutes to decipher what was going on.

Ed complained when he said something. '_You've known? How could you have known? I just now figured it out!'_

Maes just chuckled and told him it wasn't a big deal and that he wouldn't tell Roy. And then he followed that by showing Ed just about every picture of Elisia he had taken. Which Ed painfully sat through because the only secret he had left, that would probably destroy his perfectly guarded life, was in his hands. The hands of the best friend of the guy he was trying his hardest to keep the secret away from. Even better.

Maes opened the car door and hurriedly sat down.

"A little bit chilly huh?" he asked Ed conversationally while he turned on the car.

"Uh…yeah." Ed replied. They pulled off the curb as he kissed his stomach and self dignity goodbye.

_Okay. So not so bad right? All I have to do is spend an entire evening ignoring the bastard colonel that I'm in love with and trying to make conversation with people I haven't talked to in months. Fan-friken-tastic… _


	2. Chapter 2

Maes stopped and turned off the car. They were parked in front of the bar. They sat in silence for awhile and neither of them made an effort to move.

"Ed-"

"I know what you're thinking." Ed interrupted. He already knew what the man was going to say. Maes frowned and looked over to Ed. He was sitting with his hands to his side and looking straight.

Maes didn't say anything and allowed him to continue.

"I'll be fine. Really. There's no need to worry." He said turning to give Maes the best smile he could come up with. It wasn't too bad but it wasn't exactly natural either. Maes sighed and smiled politely back.

"Alright." He said enthusiastically as he could muster. Maes excitement was pretty contagious, and he wanted Ed to have the best time he could. These last couple months had been hard on him. "Ready?" he asked.

Ed looked a little uneasy. "Yep…" he sighed.

_Ready as I'll ever be…_

"Just have a good time." Maes said. They both exited the car and walked to front of the building.

Ed boots made faint splashing sounds as he walked across the wet pavement. It had rained earlier that day, and was soon to rain again, he guessed. He looked up to the sky. You could only barely see the moon through the dark clouds, and you could smell the scent of distant rain. Is was quite relaxing. Just not relaxing enough to make up for the extremely uncomfortable cold.

They walked up to a big red metal door on the side of a red brick building. Could it look any more like a bar?

Maes opened the door and walked right in. Ed followed and was surprised when the guy didn't even look for an I.D. In fact, he didn't notice them as they walked in. The inside was a lot nicer than the outside of the building. The hard wood floor was a cream color, and there was a long bar made of dark wood on the right side. It contrasted very well in the place, giving it a comfortable feeling. To the left there was a jukebox and a couple pool tables. Straight there were table booths. This was probably a bar _and_ restaurant. No wonder the no I.D check thingy…

Maes led Ed to a table directly across the room. They all waved and motioned Maes and Ed over. Sitting in the booth were Havoc, Hawkeye, Breda, Falman, and a raven haired man. Said raven haired man had had his back turned. Well until the rest of the booth made an alarming scene. Dark raven hair and onyx eyes turned around and met the gaze of the golden eyed blonde.

Ed involuntarily felt a pang rip through his heart and he averted his eyes from the man as Havoc and Hawkeye smiled to him and motioned me to sit down. It still wasn't easy seeing him. Especially after what had happened that day. Ed sat next to Hawkeye in the booth and Maes sat next to him. Nearly the whole booth was taken but everyone fit easily.

_Remember… breath, hold, repeat. If I could just make it through with it being minimally agonizing, I can crawl back into my hole and never come out. Wow, that sounded so pathetic… _

"Hey!" Havoc said between the cigarette in his mouth patting Ed on the back. Hawkeye and Breda smiled to Ed before resuming conversation. Falman winked to Hawkeye and she rolled her eyes. Maes had long ago stricken up conversation with everybody and the bar was once again lively with conversation. Ed sat politely laughing at one thing or another, and answering simple questions. He was extremely nervous and not completely comfortable. Out of his peripheral vision he could see the man he was trying his best to ignore, not trying at _all _to ignore him. Roy sat at the end of the other side of the booth with a hand on the back of the seat. He eyed the alchemist with a corner of his mouth tugged up. Obviously very amused with how uncomfortable the blonde was.

_Great…as if you weren't nervous enough. Now your perverted love affair is creepily staring at you. Great! Let's all make Edward slightly more uncomfortable until he has a nervous breakdown! Thank you very much…_

Ed rolled his eyes and flipped the man off causing him to chuckle. He pretended as though he wasn't in the midst of internal breakdown, and diverted his attention once again to the pointless conversation around him. He felt those eyes on him for a while before the man slightly chuckled and then he also started in on the _charming_ conversation.

Even though it was slightly uncomfortable, it actually felt nice to be around other people. It had been too long since he had anyone around. He found them mildly entertaining and was enjoying their company thoroughly.

Every once in a while he'd sneak a glance of the man across from him, and it made his stomach flutter. The man was just stunning. He was wearing a dark button up shirt, and a pair of black jeans. Casual wear, but still _extremely_ sexy. He would flash that devilish grin of his and it just lit up the room.

Okay, so extremely cliché, but he couldn't help it. It actually happened! He didn't know if they purposely turned up the light in the room or if he was tripping but it really did seem to happen.

His dark hair fell over his face, a little more casual than it usually is. His black eyes would ever so often make contact with Ed's gold ones and it always made Ed's breath hitch.

"And I swear!" Havoc exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air. Hawkeye rolled her eyes and the others laughed.

"Oh hey! Over here!" Roy yelled to the waitress who was holding a tray with shots on it. The waitress caught eyes of Roy and she blushed slightly. He winked and gestured her over here and she quickly settled the drinks down. Ed rolled his eyes. He shouldn't be jealous of the waitress, it wasn't her fault. Roy had an evil power of just plain charisma. It wasn't her fault she trapped under the spell of the Roy's charm. He was…

She asked if anybody needed anything, still eyeing Roy. Everyone nodded no, barely noticing her and she trailed off giggling. Roy turned toward the tray and started dealing out shots.

"Yeaahh!" Havoc yelled picking up a shot and somehow downing it with his cigarette still in his mouth. Hawkeye rolled her eyes at her boyfriend but shrugged and took a shot anyway. A couple others either pulled a shot toward them for later, while still talking, or downed it and grimaced after words.

Ed didn't drink really, he still couldn't see how they could down vodka without a chaser. Roy placed a glass down by Ed with a thud, accomplishing getting Ed's attention. The liquid in the glass swayed a little back and forth and a small portion fell over the top and down the side of the small glass cup.

_Oh...dear...god..._

"Ac-Actually…" Ed stuttered throwing his hands up, "I don't really drink.." he said nervously. Roy rolled his eyes.

"Come on Edward, loosen up." Roy said flashing Ed a smile. Ed's stomach fluttered at the use of his real name and he looked down to the shot and frowned. How bad could it really be….

_Oh no! Don't pick it up, Don't you pick that up!_

He picked it up,_dammit,_ and took a quick swig. The liquid slid down his throat and burned. Everyone stopped and stared at him smirking and he slammed the cup down and covered his mouth with his hand coughing. He looked around and smirked.

"Not so bad." He said still coughing a bit.

Everyone laughed and patted him on the back encouragingly.

"Way to go Edward. Owee!" Havoc yelled. Not even Hawkeye could stop from laughing. Roy cleared his throat and looked at Maes. Maes raised an eyebrow for a second and then understanding flashed over his face. Roy smirked at Ed and then looked back to Maes. Maes was frowning disapprovingly and had set his expression serious. Roy chuckled and downed another shot. He looked to Breda and winked and somehow Breda knew exactly what he meant, because next thing he knew, Breda whispered something to Falman, and Falman laughed and shook his hand.

Ed frowned to the men trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

_Oh come on… I'm not THAT drunk…_

He opened his mouth to speak but was silenced when he felt a glove hand on his shoulder. He turned to face Roy.

"Don't worry about it." Roy said softly silencing him. Ed frowned but didn't say anything. It was kind of hard to hear him because the bar was almost completely full now but the rough voice tuned down every other noise in the room. Roy signaled the attractive waitress again and another round of shots entered the table.

Roy quickly gave Ed another one and, reluctantly, he drank it. He started to feel a dizziness enter his head and suddenly he relaxed a bit. Now it wasn't so hard to deal with Roy there. After that he downed every drink handed to him. Which all seemed to be from Roy… Soon, he was laughing like a maniac and entering, of his own free will, his own conversation. The whole time Breda, Falman, and Havoc, exchanged glances every so often. These went un-noticed from the blonde dynamite. It had probably been about two hours and Ed was now sitting next to Roy and gibbering on with him.

Roy didn't seem as drunk as he was which was strange, but he just excused it. His hazy mind didn't find anything wrong with it at the moment. The bar was still extremely loud and the music was pumping loudly.

"Are you serious?" Ed yelled through the noisy bar to the man sitting next to him.

Roy chuckled. "Absolutely." He yelled back.

Ed seemed to think deeply on it and then smirked. "I totally get it!" he said pointing a finger. Roy raised an eyebrow.

"It was an illusion right?" he asked excitedly.

"Yep, you caught me!" he yelled laughing. Ed laughed too and grabbed another shot.

"Here's to…." He started creasing his eyebrows thinking and holding up the glass. "…to you!" he said smiling and downing it. He made a sound of distaste from the burn that snaked down the back of his throat.

Maes crossed his arms and sent a disapproving look to Roy and shook his head. Roy just chuckled and threw up his arms. Breda seemed to catch it and poked Falman in the chest. Falman then smiled madly and winked to Roy, before diverting his attention back to his conversation.

Ed looked from Maes back to Roy and pulled Roy's arm so he was closer to him. "What…what is all that about?" he asked slurring his words. Roy smirked.

"Nothing Fullmetal." Roy purred back, which caused the hairs on Ed's body to stand up. He then realized how close their faces were. Ed's hand was still on Roy's arm and he could feel the heat off his body.

"I'm drunk." Ed said staring at Roy's lips and creasing his eyebrows. Roy just laughed and nodded. "Yes, yes you are." He replied taking another drink of his beer.

"Do… do you wanna go play?" Ed asked looking to the pool tables. Roy raised an eyebrow. "Well, Fullmetal, I thought you were a little old for that but if you insist…" he trailed off.

Ed growled and playfully punched his arm. "No colonel bastard. I meant pool." He explained pointing to the tables. Now that he had _finally _realized he was a little bit intoxicated….

Okay, so a lot a bit...

It was a little easier for him to control himself. A _little_ easier…

Roy looked over to the tables and smiled. Ed just stared at him. That smile always took his breath away. He began to feel a little more nervous and his stomach lurched forward. His mind went tingly when Roy took a swig of his beer, never taking his eyes off of Ed.

"Havoc." Roy said smirking. "I'm going to go play some pool with Fullmetal. Don't spike my beer." He said eyes continually glued to the blonde.

Ed had to swallow hard. The look he was giving him was making it hard for him to breath. His heart beat was going a mile a minute and his whole world was narrowed down to one particularly smug looking, raven haired man. Add to that to the ridiculous amount of alcohol he'd consumed and you have a particularly bad feeling.

Havoc snickered and elbowed Falman. Hawkeye and Maes both looked over Roy at the same time and shot him fierce glares. Maes a little less intense, more of just anticipation, and worry in his expression. Hawkeye, however, had 'Don't make me take out my gun on you' stare and her she crossed her arms and eyed the older man deadly.

Roy stood up grabbing one of Ed's arms, and pulled him out of the booth with him. Ed shot up his eyebrows but got up anyway.

"Edward…?" Maes said grabbing Ed's other arm. Roy stood patiently eyeing the blonde as Ed looked back to Maes and smiled.

"I'm fine." He answered reassuringly. He stared at him, encouraging him he could take care of himself and Maes frowned but reluctantly let go of his arm, letting Roy pull him away.

Once they were away from the booth and chalking their pool sticks Maes stopped glaring at them. Settling on giving them short glances every few minutes.

Ed was leaning on the long side of the pool table and Roy was standing facing it, just a foot away. Roy leaned close to Ed's ear and whispered.

"I think he's worried about what I'll do to you." He said chuckling before pulling away. Ed's voice was somewhere caught in his throat. Tingles were sent down his spine and he felt like the colonels voice was echoing in his ear. Somehow he found a voice to speak from.

"I don't see why.." he answered slyly. Roy smirked and nodded his head in agreement.

"By the way," Ed added, "What the hell is going on between you and Maes. I may be drunk but I noticed the way he kept looking at you. Come on. Tell me the truth." He said eyeing the colonel.

Roy laughed and set down his chalk. He looked over at Ed and licked his lips.

Breath hitched.

Heartbeat skipped.

Face flushed.

Embarrassingly staring.

All check.

"Well," Roy said glancing over to the table for a split second. "That's for me to know, and you….to find out." He answered before looking away.

"Hey!" Ed yelled. Roy laughed and picked his chalk back up.

"I want an answer before the end of tonight." He said sticking out his chin.

"How about equivalent exchange Edward…" Roy said slyly. Ed raised an eyebrow and smirked.

_Equivalent exchange huh…._

"What's it to ya?" he asked. Roy smirked and walked over to stand in front of Ed. He put his hands on either side of Ed's hips, gripping the pool table. He slinked down until his hair was hanging over his face and his lips were hovering dangerously close.

_Oh my god…oh my god…oh my god. Breath! Breath!_

Even so, he couldn't find the will. His heart was hammering out of his chest, and his cheeks flushed a dark red color.

"Uh…wh-what did you have in mind…?" Ed asked shakily. He was leaning back into the table as far as he would go.

Roy chuckled and bite his bottom lip seductively before stealing a quick glance at the table and smirking. He took a deep breath and wiped away the smirk.

Ed raised an eyebrow.

_Uhh… okay? Come on Me. I know your hazy but something ain't right. _

Roy's breath tickled and he found himself involuntarily shutter. He tried to get himself to think through all the alcohol in his system, but all his body wanted to do was say, 'forget it', and kiss him. He was so close. All he had to do was move. But his mind wouldn't let him.

Well, fuck you mind!

"I just want to know something..."Roy said lowly. He was looking from Ed's eye's to his lips, almost as if he were scanning it for something.

"A-And W-Whats that?" he asked. He could barely breath and was stuttering. His body was tingling all the way to his finger tips.

_Get a grip!_

Roy smirked and again glanced toward the table before his smirk got bigger. Ed's mouth was slightly a gape and he all the sudden felt _really _hot.

"Well…" The colonel said pretending to be thinking. But both of them already knew he knew _exactly_ what he wanted to know.

"I want you to tell me how you feel." He answered. Satisfied with that with he stared down at Ed with that intense gaze.

Missed heart beat.

Fluctuated temperature

Creased eyebrows

Understanding.

_Oh shit…he knows? How the hell does he know? Well duh he knows… he's practically raping me against the pool table… And why am I complaining? This is all I ever wanted. Why…why does he keep looking to our table. It's obvious that if Maes wanted this to stop he would have already stopped it. Why the fuck is that colonel bastard keep smiling. What's so fucking funny?_

_Understanding…_

Ed felt a crushing weight against his chest. But it wasn't the colonel, it was realization. Echo's of words he had blocked out from their pointless conversations rung in his ears.

'_I bet….'_

'_fifty dollars!'_

'_No way…..he won't…'_

'_Get him to….'_

'_Say it…'_

'_it's obvious..'_

Anger flashed in his eyes before he closed them and pushed it away. The small lump in his throat was threatening to expand and he felt his eyes involuntarily swell. Why did it feel like all the hope and love he had just felt were ripped away from him and murdered in some dirty alley. Literally, exactly like that. An unknown terrible, disgusting, pathetic alley. Just like him. Pathetic.

_So that was what was going on? And I got too drunk to notice…_

He cursed his subconscious. Why did it have to make him realize what was really going on. He could have been happy. For one second. But it's stupid nagging kept him from enjoying this. Even if it was a lie... Didn't he deserve one moment of ignorant bliss? No wonder Hughes had been so reluctant.

_He knew? Why the hell wouldn't he tell me? Of course…because I thought I could take care of myself._

He found himself hating them. All of them. But mostly _him._ The beautiful, soft lipped, stunning, charismatic, colonel himself. Him the most.

"Oh yeah?" Ed asked eyes still closed. If he opened them now he risked all his emotions being flashed in front of the man. And he wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"And what's it to ya huh?" he added playfully.

He heard the colonel chuckle and felt his breath brush across his face making him internally cringe and the pang that hit his heart hurt worse than anything.

_God I still love you…_

"I get I want, you get what you want." The bastard said slyly. Ed opened his eyes and glared at him.

His breaths were coming out uneven and anger seared through every part of his being. He turned away not willing to meet eye to eye with the man.

Roy grabbed the alchemists chin and turned his face toward him. "What do you say huh?" He asked tilting the boys chin up and brushing over his lips with his thumb.

"Get off…" Ed whispered closed eyes. He felt the lump in throat get bigger.

_No Goddammit… Don't you dare cry!_

"Actually…" Roy started.

"Get off!" Ed screamed, voice cracking. He shoved the colonel away making him fall on his ass. He stared up to Ed shock on his face.

"What am I just a game to you?" he screamed eyes full of pain and fists tightly clasped. The whole bar went silent. Everyone looking to the young alchemist and colonel, who still sat ass on the ground staring up confused.

He hadn't really meant to knock him down. He just wanted him off of him. He didn't mean to knock him down… He didn't… He stared slightly shocked at his own actions. His face turned red from not only embarrassment but regret and anger and hurt.

Everyone at their table sat eyes wide mouths open. Maes stood one hand clamp on the table uncertain whether to approach or not.

"What am I just a game?" he asked only above a whisper slamming his eyes shut again. No one dared to say anything. He tried to apologize or say something but he just couldn't. It was quiet for a few minutes and all anyone could ear was the sound of rain outside. Funny, he didn't notice it until now.

A tear escaped his eyes and his heart again fell deep into his stomach. He felt like he had had a punch to the stomach. He knew he should say something…anything. Everything was frozen, no one in the bar dared to move or say a thing. They all just stared mouths opened. The Fullmetal alchemist had just thrown his superior to the ground. He risked a glance and his body jolted an intense pain across his stomach and heart. He felt like throwing up.

He felt a cry escape his lips and tears rolled down his cheek. He didn't catch anyone's reaction because as fast as he could, he had turned around and ran out of the bar, wiping the tears away from his face as he stepped out into the cold, dark, raining night.

_I never should have come…_


	3. Chapter 3

_Why did I run? Why was I such a coward? I should go back in there. I should take the smug bastard and bash his face in for making look like such an idiot. I mean, a bet? Really? So he knew, and he was willing to mind fuck me to win a bet? How could I not have seen that? Did he really cloud my vision so much? I'm the Fullmetal alchemist for god sakes. What the hell was going through my mind? He fucking tricked me, that's what was going through my mind. _

He mentally sighed.

_God, I was so close… So close to having everything I ever wanted. _

Ed stood on the roof of some odd building on some odd street. He really didn't care where he was. He wanted to get away from everything familiar. Everything that he knew reminded him of Roy. Or of Al. And that was not what he needed right now.

It was pouring rain. His hair had fallen out of his braid, and it had darkened a shade from the water. His clothes were drenched and he was shivering. His right foot perched on the ledge, the other was planted firmly on the ground. He had his arms folded and resting on his knee. Every breath he took burned his lungs from the cold. He hadn't known how long he had been running. He ran until his lungs burned, and his sides hurt. Ran until he could no longer run. He couldn't tell you if he were still in Central, or some alternate universe for all he cared.

He'd never liked his automail. It always slowed him down, made it harder for him to run, stole his body heat, but most of all reminded him of his biggest mistakes. Right now though, standing on an empty roof, in an empty town, in complete silence and darkness, with just the rain to keep his company, he didn't mind it. He had long before stopped feeling his body. He couldn't feel his fingers, or hands, or face for that matter. And that was the beauty of it. For tonight, for right now, he loved what came with the ignorant, numb, bliss of what was probably hyperthermia.

Again, his thoughts were drawn back to why he was here in the first place. He fists clenched tight unconsciously and fresh tears ran down his cheek to be swept away again by the endless downpour. The marks they made on their decent were like razor blades, cutting a fresh heat and sting down his outer cold cheeks. He felt beat up.

Emotional he was a complete mess. Inside he felt as if his only prized possession was taken away right in front of him and it was his fault. See, you can't really know the difference of "knowing" and 'knowing'. He thought he knew. Knew that the bastard wouldn't, couldn't, didn't return the agonizing plea of longing he did. But to have your suspicions proven is like a punch in the gut. If only it could have come as a complete shock. He didn't know which was worse. Complete, utter, shock of a really bad situation. (He'd had a fair share of those.) Or knowing with a small doubt, but still a doubt non the less, and to have it confirmed. Doubt ripped away from you swiftly and painfully.

Either way it definitely did not feel good. The agonizing torture of automail attachment, on his ten year old body, was not as bad as this. And fuck all those people that said time heals all wounds. He'd been out here for hours, and all it did was get worse.

Okay, so maybe that's not exactly what they meant by time heals all wounds but fuck it.

He could have had a really good night. He went out, loosened up, felt good. Too bad it was the last time that was probably going to happen. Not only did he probably ruin it with the only person he'd ever wanted to give his everything to, his friends were probably never going to talk to him again. They had been mostly Roy's friends anyway. He'd thought Riza was a really good friend. They had been semi-close. She was more of a mother figure. Something that warmed his heart even now. But she would undoubtedly follow Roy no matter what went on. Falman and him had never been really close, but he was an alright guy. He probably lost the opportunity to see if they could actually be friends. Despite the way he was, Havoc was a good friend of Edwards. He was funny, and a real easy person to be around. Strange, yes, but it kind of made it all the better. He was Hawkeyes boyfriend though, and he was glued to that woman. Who was unfortunately, glued to Roy. And then there was Maes. His heart made a clench. Maes had been like a father he never had. Out of the all, he was the most likely not to flee. He was Roy's best friend and all, but he would still be courteous and kind and may just not completely ignore the Elric.

He found himself feeling strangely at loss and guilty. Maybe if he hadn't had hid from the world in the past few months…maybe if he had gone out and tried the least bit to socialize with everyone. Or agreed when one of them invited him out.

No. He shook his head, flinging the more now steady rain around the dark roof.

It wasn't his fault. He had done nothing wrong. It was Roy.

Breath caught in stomach.

Heart clenched.

Winced in result.

Deep throbbing betrayal and humiliation.

He had done it. They had all known. The silent gestures. The giggles. Whispers, and short nods. The laughing at Roy and Ed.

It wasn't innocent nudges for the two of them. It wasn't because they were embarrassing the innocent flirt. It was because Roy had planning to manipulate Ed from the beginning. It was all a show. An executed arrangement of fake emotions, false feelings, and all to get the desired effect of Ed embarrassing himself so that for the next two weeks, Roy could use his military status to degrade Ed, while having the knowledge he had humiliated the boy, and thus, making every embarrassing and infuriating reaction all the more sweeter.

Ed's stomach lurched forward.

It was sick. Tears started to pour out of his eyes and his lip quivered ever so slightly. And evil. And manipulative. Just like that bastard. That was what shocked him. That the colonel would even consider doing something like that.

So either, the colonel is some sick twisted fuck, with no conscious, or he didn't realize the deepness of the emotional hold he had on the boy. The latter was more likely. But the first let him be a little more pissed. Pissed was good. It was better than hurt.

Knowing it wasn't probably a thought out manipulative emotional homicide, had its up's as well. At least now he still had something to guard. Something he had to himself. He wasn't completely empty. Void and bare. He felt a little less insecure but not by much. Although now that he had thrown the man across the room and fled without another word probably summed it all up.

He found himself wondering what would have happened if he had just let him kiss him. He would have had to deal with all the shit after words but it would have been worth it right? I mean. How many a night did he sit up longing to be with him?

He took a deep breath looked up to the sky, letting the cold water rinse over his face. How long had he been here exactly? He didn't know. What he knew only now is that he didn't want to go home. He didn't want to crawl back into his empty bed, and he didn't want to go back to work and suffer through more of those fake smiles, see all those pity head shakes, see those onyx eyes. God…

They left him breathless. That perfect will he had over his body left completely when he was around him. Why did it feel like he had lost something he never had? How was he supposed to live this down?

He suddenly felt very stupid. Stupid, and angry, and embarrassed. Should he have not pushed him away? Should he have suffered through it? Maybe he should have been a little less dramatic and like he didn't care. But he did care. A lot in fact.

It's like dangling candy in front of a child. They reach out to get it and you let them. Then as their hand brushes the plastic covering of their favorite treat, you pull it away from their fingers.

Ed couldn't help but feel his reserve slipping away. The more and more he thought of those midnight eyes, those full pink lips, that dashing smirk, that smell…

A pain tore in his heart and he clasped his hand over his mouth to stop the cry. That smell… Roy smelled amazing. Just like smoke, and body wash and a little of something he couldn't quite grasp. He sunk to the ground resting his head on the ledge. His hands held his face as he cried silently. The sobs drowned out by the weather. He had spent way too long pretending nothing was wrong.

Every time he had stepped into the office he felt like he'd been stabbed. Over and over. That bastard didn't care. He just didn't care.

The longing stares, the saddened expressions, disappointed looks, all gone unnoticed. He felt hollow, and empty, and strange. How had he gotten in so deep. He loved him. He loved him till' it hurt and bled and every inch of his body was consumed by it. He'd love him even if he was rejected, toyed with, hurt… And he loved him now. That he knew. But it was too painful to keep going through. It hurt too much. Way too much.

He had to keep reminding himself that even know he had fallen for the bastard, that his feelings were only one sided. Is that really why it hurt so much? It already hurt knowing how Roy felt, but something that was so serious to Ed was a joke to Roy. Roy didn't know, in a way it wasn't really his fault. Ignorance.

He looked up when he heard faint drips along the ground. Looking up he smiled painfully. The rain had stopped. It was now very lightly and slowly dying out. He still couldn't feel his body. He stood up on wobbly legs and sniffled. He wiped the tears from his face and stuck his wet gloved hands back into his jacket pocket. Then he turned around toward the door that led to the ground.

He didn't look up as he made his way down the stairs. Instead he kept his eyes low, eyebrows furrowed, as he tried to get a grip on himself. His body was still shaking slightly but not from the cold. No, that had stopped ages ago. He was shaking out of pure raw emotion.

He stepped off the last stair and sighed. He didn't know what he was going to do. He really didn't. He walked out the front leaving the plain building. He walked down the dark road, boots making the only sound as they hit the pavement in rhythm. He walked for a good forty minutes before he made it to a familiar place.

The park. It held a lot of something he wasn't quite sure about. It calmed him slightly. He walked over to the bench that just in front of the small pond. He sat on the edge of it. Watching the small amount of moonlight that was peering over the clouds dance across the water. He listened to the bullfrogs and crickets and found it peaceful.

He didn't look up when a familiar body positioned themselves on the other side of the bench. They sat silent. A full conversation being said by the silence. He took a deep breath and leaned back against the back of the bench.

"You know it was only supposed to be harmless." The man across from Ed said. Ed didn't move.

"I'm really sorry Ed." The man sighed rubbing his face with his hands and leaning forward. "I didn't know he was going to pull a stunt like that."

Ed smiled. He did still have a friend.

"It's alright Maes…" Ed said quietly. "You couldn't have known. _He_, couldn't have known."

And he couldn't have. Roy didn't know that Ed loved him. The thought made his whole body tense. He still feared rejection. Even though he knew the man was by no means into him, it still hurt to think about it.

He knew Maes blamed himself for what happened. Ed wanted to say something. Tell him it wasn't his fault. It wasn't Roy's fault… It was solely his own fault. For letting his feelings get out of hand. For agreeing to go to that stupid bar. To drink. But he just couldn't.

Hadn't he said something about that? He wasn't supposed to drink. No drinking for Ed. Drinking is, again, bad.

They sat in silence for awhile.

"I'll be fine." Ed sighed. And this time his friend didn't lecture about not giving up. That there was still a chance with Roy. He didn't give him any false hope. And this was just about as comforting as it was painful. If Maes had given up, he was really in some trouble.

Maes nodded slowly and stood up. "You should stay at my place tonight. Gracia is making some great dinner."

The thought of food make Ed's stomach moan in disagreement. He clutched his stomach lurching forward and emptied out the contents all over the park ground. He felt a hand rub his back and he was grateful for Maes presence.

"Sorry…" Ed mumbled wiping off his mouth. Maes chuckled and patted his back. "No problem. Come on, Let's go, I'm sure Gracia will have a desert you won't be able to refuse."

Ed smiled back up at the man. Even the way he spoke Gracia's name showed possessiveness and love. He wondered when he had known he loved her. He found himself a little jealous of Gracia and Maes. They obviously loved each other a lot. He longed for someone to love him like that.

Reluctantly he followed Maes back to his car. He felt kind of bad getting into Maes's car soaking wet. He relaxed a bit seeing Maes was in the very same position. He felt the heater kick on as they drove away from the curb.

He began to shiver again and leaned into the small car heater as much as he could.

Maes frowned. He never even thought about the fact that Ed's automail stole most of his body heat. _He must be freezing…_

They didn't say anything on the drive back to Maes. Ed stared out the window at the passing lights. The rain had stopped before he'd made it to the park so the wetness on the car windows smeared all the color.

The quietness was interrupted by loud ringing. Ed didn't look over as Maes fumbled to get his phone open. He could guess who it probably was.

"Yes, I've found him." Maes said quietly. He stared at Ed frowning as he listened on the other end of the conversation. "Thank you, of course. No, its alright. He's staying with me. Yes. See you tomorrow." He finished the call and dropped the cell phone back in the middle console.

"Riza." Maes answered the un-spoken question. Ed just nodded and smiled softly. The car slowed as they pulled up to the Hughes. He had just realized how late it must have been.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Ed asked frowning as Maes unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Of course." Maes smiled. "You can stay in our guest room."

They exited the car and Ed held in his body tightly. It was in the early morning, he knew that. And it was coldest in the very morning.

They entered the house and he immediately saw a still up Gracia making tea. She smiled softly at Ed and gave her husband a kiss. No words needed to be said. Everyone knew why he was here.

His heart fell even heavier as he walked up the soft steps of the warm house to the guest bathroom. He and Al had been here many times before and he knew the house by memory. He heard only soft whispers from downstairs and he quietly closed the door and flipped on the light.

He winced at the sudden brightness and blinked his eyes multiple times trying to get used to the light. He slowly opened the buttons on his shirt and let it fall off his shoulders. It fell to the ground with a wet thud. He looked into the mirror and sighed. He looked terrible. His eyes were puffy, and red. His hair was a mess, and it was tangled out of its braid. He then unbuttoned his pants, and let them fall, to join his shirt on the floor.

His heart still hurt. His auto mail hurt. His everything hurt. Why did he still love him? There was no reason to. He didn't love him back. He already knew that. Except, he had always wished. Hoped that he had been wrong, or waiting to be proven.

He could still hear them downstairs as he stepped into the shower. He turned on the hot water and let it snake down his back and ease away some of the tension. His auto mail still ached, but now it was only a dull pain. He threw back his head and let the water soak his blond hair. He didn't know why it meant so much for him it just did. His whole body was overtaken by sleepiness suddenly. After he had washed his hair and body thoroughly, he stepped out and grabbed a towel.

He wrapped the towel around his waist and exited the bathroom, clothes in hand. He walked down the hallway and down back the stairs. He then walked to the kitchen to see Gracia and Maes sitting at the table drinking tea together. They looked up to Ed and smiled. He smiled back and walked to sit down with them.

He sat across the table and said thank you quietly when Gracia set a cup of tea in front of him.

"Well, I'll let you boys talk." Gracia said sweetly standing up. She gave Maes a kiss and headed up the stairs.

Maes and Edward sat a few moments in silence. Edward just stared down at his tea.

"What were you thinking?" Maes asked. Ed looked up to him with creased eyebrows.

"What?" he asked.

"What were you thinking? When everything happened? What was going through your mind? What did you think he was doing?" he clarified.

Ed sighed and swallowed the lump in his throat. After a few moments he set his tea aside. Maes waited quietly.

"It was a bet right?" Ed asked softly. Maes frowned and nodded his head.

"I told him to get off of me." Ed said. "When I found out why he was…why he was trying to kiss me." Ed added.

Maes nodded slowly allowing Edward to continue.

Ed fidgeted in his seat. Maes sat with his hands folded together on the table patiently.

"I didn't get it at first. The whole silent gestures and shit." Ed said creasing his eyebrows. "I only figured it out, when he kept looking over to the table." He said a little quieter.

Maes nodded his head and looked down to his hand. He was doing his best to understand the situation.

"Do you know what's it like Maes?" Ed asked peering at his cup of tea. Maes looked up to Ed questionably. He was keeping his expression emotionless.

"I love Roy." He said slowly. "I know you know that. I just meant, to have the person you love right there. You know, like just inches away" he sighed and smiled softly.

"And then, to realize you look like an idiot. Pathetic. Falling for things like that." He creased his eyebrows. He was still sitting in his towel. His wet clothes were in a pile on the table.

They sat I silence for a long time. Both reflecting on his words.

"You know, I do not excuse the behavior from Roy, but…" Maes sighed. "I don't think he meant to intentionally hurt you like that. None of us did."

Ed winced. Hearing his name was bad enough. He really didn't want to talk about it. But he knew he should. And he had thought about it. About how Roy didn't know he was in love with him.

"He doesn't love me back does he?" Ed asked. He almost didn't want to hear the answer. He could his heart beating in his ears and soon wished he hadn't had asked. He didn't want to know the answer.

Maes didn't answer him and every second that ticked by was like a blow in the stomach.

_So that's how it is huh?_

Ed stood up, scooting the chair out from under him. Maes followed. He grabbed the clothes from the side of Edward and told him he'd give him some clothes for tonight, while these dried. Ed nodded, refusing to meet his gaze as his stomach started to clench up again.

He walked up the stairs with Maes and watched as he disappeared into his bedroom. He himself let himself into the spare bedroom. He sat on the bed and waited until Maes gave him a big T-shirt and said his goodnight's. After he got dressed he slipped into bed and clutched his pillow. He cried himself to sleep knowing full well Maes could probably hear him. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>The end to a painfully long chapter. I apologize for how terrible and sad these are, they will get amazingly better. Roy's chapter is next ;) Also I apologize if i have a few mistakes. Don't have a beta reader): . Anyway, this is the last chapter that's based solely on depressed thoughts. The rest will be better. So keep reviewing and thank you for reading. <strong>

With love, Bambi .


	4. Chapter 4

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"go away…"

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"No…go…"

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Oh my god!" Ed yelled throwing the pillow at the door. He had a horrible headache and the banging was not doing him any good for his hangover. He stumbled out of bed and swung the door open. He was about to yell until he layed eyes on the younger blonde who had a smile from ear to ear.

"Al!" Ed yelled. He embraced the younger one who was by now giggling.

"Hey brother" Al said.

"What-what are you doing here?" Ed asked.

"Well…" Al fidgeted a little.

"What?" Ed asked.

"I…uh.."Al smiled sheepishly.

"What did you do Al?" Ed asked playfully pushing his brothers shoulder.

"Well… I finally asked….and she said yes! Me and Winry are getting married!" Al said excited.

Ed's mouth dropped.

"Oh my god Al! That's great!" They started laughing and embracing each other again.

He smiled at his brother. He looked so happy. That's all he ever wanted. Was for his brother to be happy.

"What about you brother?" Al questioned winking.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked confused.

"I mean…" he looked around to make sure no one was there before he leaned in, "with the colonel" Al asked giggling.

Ed's smile dropped.

"Oh…uh.." he scratched the back of his head.

"What?" Al asked frowning.

Ed looked down at his feet. "It didn't go so well Al." Ed whispered.

Al looked at his brother worried. He'd never seen him like this.

"Listen, don't worry. We can talk about it later. Right now, I'm gonna go get dressed." Ed told him.

Al was about to argue until he saw his brothers face. He knew better. His brother would tell him when he was ready.

"Alright brother." Al said smiling. Ed smiled and Al watched his close the door behind him. He frowned and walked down the stairs.

_I wonder what's bothering brother so much…_

"Sir?" Al asked Maes when he got to the bottom of the stairs. Maes was sitting at the kitchen table with Elicia in his arms. He looked up to Al and smiled.

"Hey there Al. Gracia and Winry are out in the garden." Maes said tickling Elicia making her laugh uncontrollably. Al shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Oh…okay. Actually sir, I wanted to talk to you about my brother." Al said walking over and sitting down at the table.

Maes stared at Al for a second before he set Elicia down. "Go play now…Let us talk okay?" Maes said.

"Okay!" Elicia said running away and giggling.

He smiled at his daughter and then turned back to Al. Al was sitting with his hands in his lap, looking up to Maes, eyes expectant.

"Well," Maes said folding his hands together. "What exactly is it you'd like to know?" he asked politely.

"About the other night…he didn't seem to want to talk about it." Al said.

_So he knew? Well, guess I have to tell him now…_

Maes thought for a second, trying to pick out his words carefully. He was still pissed at Roy, but he didn't want to sick Al on him. He didn't condone murder.

"I took Ed to a bar last night. With all of us." Maes explained. "He drank a little too much I think." Maes watched Al's face to make sure he was approaching this right.

"He and Roy went to play some pool, and they were getting kind of close." Maes said.

Al nodded his head slowly.

_So Roy got my brother drunk huh…_

"What do you mean close?" Al asked creasing his eyebrows.

"Well…" Maes looked down to the table for a second. "They were talking, to each other, in their personal spaces."

"So they were flirting?" he asked.

Maes nodded and chuckled. "Yes, yes they were flirting."

"So what happened after that? Why is my brother upset?" Al asked wasting no time.

Maes cleared his throat and Al could tell he was uncomfortable.

"Did he touch my brother?" Al asked narrowing his eyes.

Maes eyebrows shot up before he put on a calm expression. "No Al. I would never allow that." Maes said. He saw Al visibly relax again.

"Well then what did happen?" Al asked noticeably calmer but more confused.

"Well, Roy kind of tried to get Fullmetal to admit his feelings. Out loud." Maes said slowly.

Al creased his eyebrows but continued to listen.

_What do you mean admit his feelings? Wasn't it obvious to him? What would he stand to gain?_

"I guess…it was a bet between Havoc and him, to see if he would say it out loud."

"What?" Al yelled eyebrows shooting up. A bet? He made my brother embarrass himself for a bet?

"Now, Al understand that-"

"He just played my brother?" Al screamed visibly upset.

_Oh he's dead. He is sooo dead._

Maes put his hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down. "Al, he never meant to upset your brother he-"

"Just didn't know." Al finished his sentence and Maes frowned.

"You see, I don't believe that." Al said crossing his arms and rising from the table. "My brother may be a genius but he can't hide anything worth shit." Al spat. He was furious.

Maes stood up as well.

"And the same goes for Roy. He may look smart but he's a pretty big idiot when it comes to these things." Maes said trying to calm him down. He could see Al hesitate and he extended a hand to the chair.

Al fidgeted before allowing Maes to sit him back down.

Maes opened his mouth to speak before he was interrupted.

"It doesn't matter anyway."

Maes and Al both turned toward the sound and froze. Ed was standing up against the door frame arms crossed. Roy stood on the other side on hand in his pocket.

"You know, it's better if you make sure the people you were talking about aren't here." Roy said smirking, but it was obvious he was extremely uncomfortable. Ed wasn't as amused.

"Al?" Ed asked between clenched teeth. Al looked up like a kicked puppy then diverted his attention down to his feet.

"Sorry brother…I just…wanted to know…" he mumbled.

"I told you we were going to talk about it later." Ed replied eyes narrowed.

Al snapped. He shot up out of his chair hands clenched to his sides.

"No we wouldn't have! You would have just avoided the question like you always do!" he yelled. Roy's eyebrows shot up.

"Al, don't." Ed said dangerously stepping forward once.

"Don't what?" Al asked crossing his arms. He narrowed his eyes toward Roy. "And you know what Colonel?" Al yelled.

Maes stood up trying to calm the boy down but he just shook his hand away.

"You've hurt my brother more times than I could count. Do you know how many times he's called me crying because of you?" he spat. Ed had froze. Eyes a look of shock and horror.

"Al stop!" Ed yelled voice cracking.

"Al….maybe this isn't such a good time for this." Maes said slowly.

"No," he said looking at Maes, "This is a perfect time!" He looked back toward Roy.

"He's had his heart broken time and time again. And you know what? I don't believe for one second that you don't know how he felt!" Al yelled.

Roy stood uncomfortably with both hands in his pockets. His face was pale and eyebrows only slightly furrowed.

"Al, just shut up! You don't know what you're talking about." Ed yelled desperately.

"Shut up?" Al screamed. "How many times have you been hurt by him? It isn't fair what he's done to you!" Al pleaded.

Ed stared at his brother mouth in a line. He didn't look over to Roy but he could tell his body had gone tense.

Maes walked over to Al and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Al, that's enough." He said softly but sternly. Al opened his mouth to speak but immediately closed it. He looked down and sighed.

Roy swallowed hard and all eyes diverted to him. He looked over to Ed and they locked eyes for only a moment before Ed looked away. In that small moment he saw the hurt, and embarrassment, in his expression. Something that made his stomach clenched. He'd never seen the younger man look so exposed and vulnerable.

_What…the fuck just happened?_

Al sighed and walked around the table. He walked toward the front door giving Roy a nasty look and hitting him with his shoulder before he exited the house slamming the door behind him. Maes stood stone faced staring at Roy. The moment Ed moved both eyes locked on him. Ed didn't look back to them, instead he ran up stairs to his room and slammed the door as well.

They stood a moment in silence, Roy questioning his friend. Maes sighed and picked up the chair that had been knocked over when Al had abruptly stood up.

"What…" Roy couldn't even finish his sentence. His throat felt so dry.

He walked over to Maes. He wouldn't look at him.

"Maes?" he pleaded. Maes shot him an angry glance.

"Please tell me that your I.Q is low enough that you didn't have the slightest of clue Ed had feelings for you." He asked. He desperately wanted to believe his friend was innocent.

Roy stood stunned at his best friends domineer.

"I…I.." Roy stuttered. Maes seemed disappointed and then shook his head.

"What are you here for Roy?" he asked shortly as he picked up the tea off the table and carried it to the kitchen.

"What am I here for? I'm here to know what the fuck happened last night." He said angry. He wanted question what had just happened there. And what he meant by feelings. He wanted to demand what the fuck was really going on, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Maes looked up at his friend and blinked. He wondered to himself if Roy really didn't know. He finally concluded he didn't and relaxed a slight bit.

"Roy, what was the bet?" he whispered bracing himself.

Roy visibly tensed for a moment before he spoke. "Havoc…Havoc thought Ed may like me. He bet me I couldn't make him say it." Roy said looking down.

Maes frowned, "That's too bad Roy. That's really too bad." He shook his head and started to walk away.

"I didn't know!" Roy said causing Maes to stop. "I thought it was just a crush. Nothing more than that." He added.

Maes didn't say anything. He just turned around and walked up to Roy. He opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it when Winry came in holding Elicia, and Gracia came in behind her.

"Hey guys have you se-" Winry stopped talking and raised both her eyebrows.

She could see and feel the tension between the two. Maes walked away from Roy and planted a peck on his wife's questioning face. Winry eyed the Colonels back coolly before she hesitantly entered the kitchen, setting the vegetables on the counter. Al wasn't the only one that didn't like him.

"Good morning Roy." Gracia said sweetly as she joined Winry in the kitchen. She seemed skeptical as well but didn't ask. She just diverted her frowning face to her husband. Their wasn't many times she'd seen the best friends act this way toward each other.

"Will you be staying for lunch?" she asked slowly, not sure.

"No, but thank you. I should be going." Roy said clearing his throat and turning toward the front door. The girls furrowed the eyebrows at the man as he glanced at the stairs once before exiting the house.

"What was that all about?" Winry asked as Maes hugged his wife from behind.

"Nothing." Maes said sighing. "Just classic Roy"

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so not as much Roy as I had initially intended, but I believe it came together quite well without a Beta. I'm pretty sure I demonstrated the protective relationships Ed has with all of them, even through his long period of avoidance. Review if you would. Review!<br>**


	5. Chapter 5

Ed sat in the upstairs guest bedroom. His legs were drawn up to his chest and he had been silently screaming into a pillow on and off now for the past hour. Yes, he was being childish. No, he probably shouldn't have yelled at his brother like that.

He was just trying to help, and that's what brothers do. They help. And it really was his fault anyway. He'd never let his brother say anything about Roy. Even when he would do something extremely horrible. Because he was selfish. And he thought that if he had at least one persons support he could look over those horrible things he did. That maybe someday he'd change. That it'd all be okay. That he wouldn't have to keep crying himself to sleep at night. That it would stop hurting so bad.

But he'd been wrong. He seemed to be being wrong a lot lately. Like sleeping over for example. He didn't know that he was going to come downstairs in the morning and meet Roy at the door. They had both froze, that is until they had heard the raised voices from the next room. When they turned to said room Ed was not surprised to see that his brother and Hughes were talking. Al really liked Hughes.

What he hadn't been expecting, was just _what_ his brother was talking about with said liked man. He hated it when people talked about him behind his back. Hell, he hated it when people talked about him in front of his back. Especially about his personal business.

Yes, both Maes and Al knew, but that didn't mean everybody had to. That's when he'd remembered Roy was standing just a few feet from him, watching them as well, eyebrows raised. Someone who didn't know him wouldn't have been able to tell him as anything other than a mildly amused, laid back kind of guy. But Ed wasn't someone who didn't know him. Ed was a someone who was madly and unhealthily in love with the guy. There was something in his posture that was just a bit wrong that gave him off. Not only was he uncomfortable with the conversation, he was uncomfortable with Ed.

Anger flashed through his veins and he just felt like he needed to stop it right then in there. So he had. At first he'd been convinced his brother was going to let it go, but then he'd just snapped. Something that was probably, again, Ed's fault.

Of course he was close to his brother, but sometimes he just didn't like to talk about things. And last night was just a thing he didn't feel like talking about. Maybe he just felt instinctive to protect his younger brother. His "younger" brother just wasn't quite so "young" anymore. Hell, he was getting married! A hell of a lot farther than he was. He hadn't even convinced the person he loved to go out with him yet. Which by now was probably impossible.

He sighed deeply, letting go of a long shaky breath. His head throbbed lightly and he was again reminded of his hangover. If there ever was anything to get your mind off things it was a hangover. Because when you have a hangover you have only one thing on your mind. A headache.

He got onto his feet, hitting his automail leg on the ground a little harder than he'd meant to. It made a thump and he winced.

Just another thing to be plaguing his mind right now. He didn't like his automail, and he felt incredibly stupid for thinking any different last night. He walked back and forth feeling like he should be doing something, anything. He glanced out the window. The sun was up and shinning, and anyone else wouldn't have seen anything but an extremely shiny and beautiful day.

Ed didn't see any of that. He saw darkness. He saw that this was shit and that was shit and that dog didn't really love that other dog. He was only using her because he wanted to be cool in front of his other doggy friends. Stupid dog.

Ed huffed and went to the window. He was about to yell at the dogs before he caught a glimpse of a familiar raven haired man. He creased his eyebrows.

_What the hell is he doing?_

He was currently sitting on a bench being attacked by an elderly lady with a considerably large purse. The weird part was that he didn't seem to be fighting back.

_I wonder how long he's been attacked. _

Ed involuntarily felt himself smile. You've never really seen anything funny until you've seen a dark haired, charming military man being beaten by a four foot, white haired old lady.

Seeing as though she looked pretty bad, he'd bet she was doing more damage on herself than Roy. He looked back to the door and shifted on his feet. He wanted to go out there but he really didn't think he could face Maes right now. And his hangover didn't really wanna face Winry.

He looked out the window and calculated it really wasn't a far drop. He clapped his hands against the side of the house bringing the gravel up closer to the window. He hopped outside the window using one hand and lowered himself to the ground.

Once he had maneuvered off the dirt mound he brought his hands back down to earth to fix the damage. He shook himself off and turned back to the other side of the street. The lady was still hitting him, instead using both hands to grip the short cream colored handles. He white hair bounced back and forth and her face was contorted with angry wrinkles.

Roy just looked miserable. He sat with his knee's apart, hands together, face stoic. Well as stoic as you could keep it while your ass is being handled to you by an eighty year old senior citizen club member.

He trotted across the street, looking down the road only once to check for cars. He walked up to them and grabbed the lady by the arm.

"Ma'am?" Ed said as politely as he could muster. He didn't care how old they were, he really didn't like the idea of anyone touching Roy. Purse or no purse.

Roy sprang back to life when he heard Ed. He looked up to him and gave him the most desperate and thankful look Ed had ever seen.

"He stole my purse, he stole my purse!" The woman was yelling and throwing her hands in the air. Ed rose an eyebrow.

"This purse?" he asked pointing to what was in her hands.

She stared at a moment before turning to Roy glaring. "He gave it back when I wasn't looking" she accused pointing a long bony finger in Roy's face.

Roy looked like he was going to implode.

"Maybe you should go?" Ed said again trying to save her life. She looked at him evil before she huffed and turned around stalking off.

Roy put his head in his hands. "Ugh…" he groaned. Ed laughed and sat next to him on the bench.

"Thank you" Roy said chuckling. Ed smiled and before they knew it they were both laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"You know…" Roy said smirking. "I've been watching those dogs for the past ten minutes."

Ed looked toward the dogs. Two dogs stood together nuzzling while three others stood nearby.

"Yeah?" Ed asked.

"Yeah."

"And what do you see?"

"Well," Roy sighed, "I think the black dog really likes the tan dog." He said.

Ed turned to him. The summer sun made his raven hair glisten and the wind barely made the tips of his hair sway.

"Well I don't see that." Ed said turning away. Roy raised an eyebrow.

"What do you see then?" Roy asked.

"I see that for the past whenever the one dogs gives the other it's bone, and that dog just runs off until he's finished and then comes back." Ed said shortly.

"Well look at them now." Roy said pointing towards them. Ed crossed his arms.

"So what? That's what the dog does. He pretends to be interested to get what he wants." He said.

Their was a moment of silence.

"And what if that is only how it appears." Roy said quietly. Ed looked to him. He looked like he was in deep thought.

"What's that supposed to mean? You can't obviously tell me the dog doesn't know." Ed said turning his attention back to the dogs.

"He does now." He replied.

"He didn't when the other dog was giving him the bones?" Ed snorted.

"Well, think about it." He said, "What if the he was so busy trying to keep the other dogs out of trouble so no one would get hurt that he wasn't paying enough attention." He breathed.

"And that makes it okay?" Ed asked quieter.

"…No. But obviously the dog is sorry right?" he asked.

Ed looked over and locked eyes with Roy.

"And maybe the dog feels really really bad for what he did. He'll never ask for a bone again…Not if the other dog will forgive him." Roy said hoarsely. They stood silently just looking at each other as if it was the first time they'd really seen each other.

"Roy…" Ed breathed closing his eyes.

"Yeah?" Roy replied softly.

"Were not talking about the dogs are we?" Ed asked. He forced the lump in throat down so he could speak.

"..no." the dark haired man said. "No, were not."

Ed opened his eyes and locked eyes with the raven man once more.

"Roy…" Ed sighed. "I don't have any bones left." He said.

"Then I'll give you mine." Roy replied without skipping a beat.

The look he gave was sincere and Ed wanted desperately to trust him. It was just so hard. After being hurt for so long it's difficult to trust anyone. Look at his brother. Point proved right there. He hadn't even been able to trust his own brother. How was he supposed to trust the man that cause his trust issues in the first place.

"I can wait…" Roy said sincerely smiling softly. Ed smiled back.

"Thanks…" he said quietly. He felt his eyes start to well up and he looked away. He really loved him. Truly and completely but he didn't trust him. And he wasn't sure if he could handle if Roy broke this. If this was just another trick.

"Ed?" Roy asked softly.

"..yeah?"

"...I deserve this one.." he said sucking in a deep breath.

* * *

><p><strong>Hehe . What a mean old lady ! So... what do you think. They weren't talking about dogs were they? R E V I E W . <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

{{ROY's POV}}

**Just last night…**

That night felt like the longest of his life. And the worst.

_Stupid Fullmetal…_

It was raining. Not as hard, but still raining. He had already been out in the rain for an hour and he was starting to get tired. Not to mention he couldn't use his gloves in the rain. Not only was he miserable, and vulnerable, he also felt like a complete jackass. Now, Roy Mustang was not one to admit he was wrong. Most of the time he wasn't, so there was no need. But alas, he was wrong. _Very_ wrong.

He shook his head as he slugged down another empty street. He didn't bother yelling his name, he knew he wouldn't answer if he did.

Okay so maybe he could have handled that different? It was just supposed to be a joke. They were going to get him a little drunk and see if they could get him to flirt with anybody. Hell, no one had even seen Ed on a date before! The bet was who could get him to hit on someone first. Once Roy got the opportunity, he tried.

Okay so again he could have handled that differently. He really hadn't meant it to hurt Ed. He hadn't even planned on him finding out…

Ugh.

_God, I am such an ass. _

He had first planned on getting Ed together with the waitress. But the boy had seemed so completely un-mused of the girl. It was a little strange. She was attractive. He actually seemed a little irritated by her. So he thought maybe he just didn't like her. Every time he'd bring up a girl Fullmetal always dismissed it. That's when he thought maybe the boy didn't play for the same team.

He was completely surprised by it. Not once had he thought about Ed being with a guy. It internally made him cringe. He was not a homophobe, by any means. It was just so weird. He had always thought Ed had a thing for Winry. But it wasn't really any of his business anyway, so he dismissed it.

So what guy could he get him with? He thought about Falman but then quickly dismissed it. Didn't seem like his type. And anyway, that was not something he wanted to see. So that left him with a stranger from the bar. Something Roy wasn't really comfortable with. So in the end, it seemed he was the only option.

He had charm. He charmed stubborn girls like him before, how different could it be? He was doing a pretty good job, he thought. It seemed pretty obvious that Ed might be _just_ drunk enough to let him kiss him. He had gotten the attention of the open mouthed Havoc and smiled evilly eyeing his wallet. He was so close to winning too. What happened after that was a mystery.

He was probably so freaked out by it that he had to run. Big ego blow on Roy by the way. He couldn't quite place it but rejection from the young blonde stung somewhere deep. Something he quickly dismissed. But he did feel bad, really bad.

He turned down another empty street and continued the routine he'd worked out.

He crossed the street to the other sidewalk, hoping to find some sign of the blonde. After a few moments he froze. He squinted his eyes trying to see if the blotch of red in the distance was the blonde. It didn't help that it was pitch black outside. And still raining. And he was drunk.

"Edward?" Roy yelled. It was barely audible due to the rain. He stepped closer hesitantly. He didn't want Ed to start running when he saw him. God knows he was probably more embarrassed than he ever had.

Stab of guilt.

_Goddamn feelings…_

"Edward…I know your mad…but please let me explain." He yelled.

No answer.

"I don't know what you thought, well, whatever you thought was probably better than what actually happened…I just….let me talk to you.." Roy approached closer to the object. He was now only about three car lengths from it.

_I still can't quite see him…_

"Ed…I know your upset but please. You're going to get hyperthermia or something." Roy pleaded. Roy got arms length and stopped.

"…You're a fire hydrant…I'm talking to a fire hydrant….And I'm _still _talking to a fire hydrant." Roy sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. It was going to be a long night.

"What are you doing?"

Roy jumped almost three feet in the air and turned to the voice.

"Uhh…I…" Roy stuttered.

The blonde woman looked at him strangely.

"I…didn't know it was a fire hydrant.." he said laughing nervously. She rolled her eyes and walked over to him.

"Haven't found him yet?" She asked. Roy sighed and nodded his head.

She turned around to look down the street. "Guess we should probably take a break." She said.

Roy nodded and walked with her to find cover.

_Three…two…one.._

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Hawkeye said. Roy involuntarily winced. She did not sound happy. He could just tell her no. Although she would probably say whatever she was going to anyway.

"Of course." Roy answered.

"You do understand all of this is your fault?" She asked.

Roy looked down shamefully and sighed. Of course he did.

"Look, I didn't try to make him uncomfortable or anything. I don't know, I was drunk and we were having a good time." Roy started. "I didn't mean to freak the little guy out." Roy finished.

"Freak him out sir?" Hawkeye asked confused.

Roy looked to her and frowned. "Yeah, I mean why he pushed me away. Because he was uncomfortable."

_What is she not getting about this? How much did _she _drink._

Hawkeye stared at him for a few minutes before blinking rapidly. "You're an idiot." She stated plainly.

Roy creased his eyebrows.

_What?_

"What do you mean…?" he asked his lieutenant guardedly. He didn't like not knowing something.

She shook her head and sighed. "Is that really why you think Fullmetal pushed you away?" she asked.

He shook his head dumbly and frowned. Of course that's why he pushed him away. Right?

She hesitated a bit before she spoke, "Sir what exactly was the bet?" she asked.

"Havoc didn't tell you?"

"I didn't ask." She answered.

"We bet who would be the one to get him out of his skin. You know, loosen him up, maybe get him to hit on a waitress." He said shrugging.

She looked at him and a small smile found her lips.

"What..?" Roy asked hesitantly.

"He didn't push you away because he was uncomfortable. Actually, it was practically the opposite." She said.

Roy stopped and faced her with both hands in his pockets. "What do you mean?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "He likes you." She sighed and face palmed. "He..._we_…thought, well he thought you were only manipulating him Sir. He thought you were…" she paused.

"Fucking with him." She said. "Sir…" she added.

Roy shook his head frowning. "Wait…he…and…" his eyes widened with realization.

He shook his head and backed up throwing his hands up. "Whoa there lieutenant. Are you telling me Elric has a crush on me?" he asked.

"Yes." She replied.

Roys mind spun. He scoffed and shook his head.

_No way. There is no way the little brat has a crush on me. I mean, yeah I thought he was gay, but if he pushed me away… He can't like me! _

"So sir…" she said hesitantly, "Why did you get so….close to him?" she asked.

He thought for a moment before he answered shrugging. "The bet. I couldn't get him to hit on the waitress so I took another route." He answered. It wasn't entirely true, and he knew it deep down, but he didn't say anything.

She looked disappointed and shook her head looking away. "You do understand how completely selfish that was."

Roy nodded and threw his hands up again. It wasn't his fault the little guy had 'feelings' for him.

"Why was he so bothered by it anyway." He asked un-amused. Hawkeye just gave him the look saying 'why do you think dumbass'. He furrowed his eyebrows before he finally understood.

"He thought you knew, and was using it to your advantage for a bet" she said trying to get her brain dead colonel to understand.

"God…" Roy sighed. "He must _really _hate me right now." He stated as they both continued to walk.

Hawkeye nodded and then spoke. "Well sir, you didn't give him much reason for any other explanation.

But I don't think he hates you Roy." She said.

He frowned and looked at the ground. Of course he hadn't. He had always made it clear he was not into guys. Especially Ed. Hell, he made it seem like he couldn't give a damn about that kid.

"I actually think he loves you." Hawkeye said only slightly over a whisper.

Roy choked. "What?" he asked.

"Sir, you have, for the past months, been completely oblivious." She muttered.

"Well, it's not like he told me..." Roy said grumpily folding his arms.

She rolled her eyes.

"Didn't you ever wonder why he stayed after he had gotten Alphonse's body back?" she asked.

_I never even questioned it… I thought it was strange sure…but…_

"Why he comes to your office everyday, instead of just when you need him like he used to? Or like how he always picks a fight? Why do you think he does that? To fight? Or to stay?"

Her words cut like knives and he started to feel a foreign feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I…never really thought about it…" Roy said.

It had already stopped raining and the silence that followed between them made it uncomfortably silent.

_Wait, so…he likes me. No, he loves me. What? Okay, this is way too weird. Reflect Roy. So, if Riza is right… What am I thinking? Riza's always right. He picks a fight to stay, he yells because he knows I'll yell back? God…how long has this been going on? How could I have over looked something like that?_

_And what have I been doing? Sending him out to go do stuff for me, giving him a hard time about his mission reports and budget, giving him crappy missions, dismissing him without second glances. Wow._

Roy stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing Hawkeye to give him a funny look. It only lasted a moment before she spoke again to the phone. Probably checking in with Hughes. He really hoped he found him.

He didn't need a dead subordinate. Too much paperwork…

He felt a little uncomfortable knowing the way Ed felt for him. What was he supposed to say next time he saw him? How was he supposed to act? He guessed now he would have to stop teasing him like he did.

Roy took a deep breath and watched the white cloud swerve in front of him. He had to talk to Ed. Apologize. Do something. He wasn't quite sure why but his stomach was clenching and he felt like this was probably going to be a make a break point for them. Them? What was "them"? What did "them" mean? He still wasn't quite sure what he did back at the bar. Did he feel…

_Feel? Oh no. No no Roy. What you were doing was strictly because of the bet. Strictly. You like woman. WOMAN. _

"Sir?" Hawkeyes voice and slight smile brought him out of his thinking.

"What?" he asked jumping almost three feet in the air.

"Maes found Edward." She smiled amused. He felt a weight lift off his chest. Well, until even more guilt settled themselves in the same place.

"Is he okay?" he asked with more worry in his voice than he had meant to put in there.

"Yes, he's fine. He's going to be staying with the Hughes tonight."

"I see…" Roy said contemplating.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Hawkeye warned after a moment.

Roy shot her a glance. "I have to Riza! I have to apologize or something." He said.

She frowned disapprovingly. "And what do you expect him to do? Forgive you on the spot? It's not fair to ask so much of him so soon. He hides his feelings well. We can't know exactly what this did to him." She explained.

Roy sighed. That was true. God he hated these things. They were so complicated.

"If you really want to…" Riza sighed, "Wait until tomorrow." She said.

Roy nodded and yawned involuntarily.

"And go home." She said smiling. He nodded and told her goodnight. He declined the offer for a ride home. He didn't feel like he was going to get much sleep anyway.

**Present:**

His thoughts were pulled back right when the fist landed on his untouched, pale cheek.

_"Ed?" Roy asked softly._

_"..yeah?"_

_"...I deserve this one.." he said sucking in a deep breath._

"huh?" Ed asked. He turned only just in time to see an angry fist hit Roy square in the face. The impact knocked them both backward bringing the bench with them. Or more like the bench bringing them both with _it_.

Roy's breath left his lungs the minute his back hit the ground. He knew Ed had come with him, because he heard practically the same sound from beside him. His face immediately started to burn.

"Ughhh…." He moaned. He sat up and looked into eyes very similar to the blondes. They were the same hazelnut color, but were a lot darker than the electric color his brother had. Of course they were. They were Al's eyes.

"What the hell Al?" Ed screamed.

Al didn't look at his brother. Instead Roy and Al had their eyes locked. It was a challenge. Roy knew this. He smiled. He really did love challenges.

"Beautiful day isn't Al?" Roy asked.

Al shook his head.

"It is now." He mumbled.

They stood in silence a moment before Al turned to his brother.

"You have my blessing." He said before he turned to leave. Ed just sat mouth agape. He looked like a fish out of air, mouth constantly opening and closing. Roy laughed.

Ed turned to him glaring and he immediately shut his mouth, instead clearing his throat.

Roy stood rubbing his face. He really did underestimate the younger Elric. He pulled Ed to his feet.

Ed frowned. "What the hell was that?" he asked as he watched Roy pull the bench back up.

"Your brother sure as hell packs a punch." Roy said.

Ed sighed. He wasn't going to get an answer and he knew that. Hell, he didn't care… too much.

"Ed, its fine." Roy said.

Ed looked up to him.

"No it's not!" Ed gasped instinctively bringing his hand to his cheek. "It's looks terrible." Ed said running his fingers softy over the already bruising flesh.

Roy caught his wrist and Ed froze.

"_This…_will be fine." He said locking eyes. "I meant Al and I. It's fine." He said.

Ed's stomach twisted.

"Y-yeah. Sure, whatever you say." Ed swallowed hard.

Roy smirked. "Sure whatever?" he mocked. Ed pulled his hand away and glared at him.

"Yeah." He said shortly. Roy threw his hands up defensively and chuckled.

"Anyway," Ed mumbled turning away and crossing his arms. "You deserved that." He pouted.

"I know." Roy replied. "I already told you that." He said.

Ed turned back and creased his eyebrows. "You saw him coming?" he asked.

"Yep." Roy replied sighing. "I knew exactly what was going to happen." He smirked.

Ed smirked also. "Always so predictable…" Ed laughed.

Roy chuckled agreeing.

…..

The keys made a _clink _sound as they hit his glass table. He rubbed his face in his hands and instinctively winced. His face still hurt. A lot. He fell onto his couch and let out a moan. This was almost as much as a relief as it was stress.

After the assault he had walked Ed home, getting a none too nice glare from everyone but Gracia and little Elisia.

It was hard to believe that just the night before they had been in a bar, and everything had been fine. He was exhausted. He had a hangover himself and his feet hurt from looking for Ed for so long.

* * *

><p><strong>I know I know! It's been forever. And your like..."but you never take so long..." and I cry because I know it's true. Lately I've gone into a kind of depression so I apologize. I'm snapped out of it tonight and I hope this extra long chapter makes up for it. I really wanted to show everybody what happened that night to Roy. So yhea. Enjoy and pretty please review. <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

He woke up from a nap and rolled over off of his couch.

"Ugh.." he groaned. It was later in the afternoon already and he felt kind of stir crazy in the house so he decided to take a walk.

It was beautiful outside, right before sunset, everything felt so fresh, so crisp. He smiled to himself as he pulled his jacket on over him and locked his door. Usually he just took walks to kill time, but he was partially enjoying himself today. He walked down the street in the direction of a nearby park. It was a nice park with huge tree's surrounding a small lake, more like a pond, that was just beautiful this time of year. Thin layers of ice would form throughout the pond during the winter, but it never froze completely over. Winter White Orchids were blooming this time of year too. They were huge white orchids with purple tips that ran down to the bud like thin ink.

It was pretty chilly outside but he didn't really mind. The fresh air was a nice relief.

He crossed the street, waving at his neighbor who was running with his dog, and walked into the park. The view was breath taking and he involuntarily smiled. It was sunset and the way the light reflected off the water was incredible. He sat down at a nearby bench and studied it for a long time. His thoughts began to drift to Ed. At first he thought it would be nice for him to see it. Then he thought about all the time they spent together. From when he first enrolled to now.

They used to get along a bit better, he realized. Not at first, no. At first he thought Edward was going to pop a gasket every time he walked in his office. It had always been a little amusing. Calling him short stuff, and asking him to get things off of high shelves. He snickered to himself. He kind of missed that.

He just figured that his subordinate didn't want anything to do with him. And to be honest, he didn't really pay much attention to him if he wasn't there, or if he was busy. The thought made him feel guilty. He tried once when Al had first gotten his body back to cross some distance with him, and he thought it was going pretty well for awhile, but things changed. Inside he knew why, but that was not something he wanted nor was willing to think about.

He sighed, as the last bit of light faded from the sky, cursing himself for not doing something to keep his mind off the whole thing. He sat there for awhile before about five or six ducks wiggled their little tale over to him in the water.

He was surprised to see them, he figured it was still too cold for them to be out. They waddled up out of the water and up to his boots, and started pecking behind him. He moved his feet quickly thinking at first they were after him, but soon realized it was something under the bench.

Curious, he stuck his hand under the bench and got a hold of whatever it was, pulling it back out to examine it. From the look of it, it was bread. He smelt it and smiled realizing it was sweet pumpkin bread.

He opened the plastic and tore off some crumbs, throwing to the hungry ducks. He thought about the sweet bread Gracia made and a ping of guilt hit his stomach. His friend Hughes had only been angry with him a few times in his life, and never so serious.

_I need to go talk to him…_

After he decided the ducks had enough, he wrapped it up, and set it on the bench. It was a short walk back to his house, and he felt like he needed to get some more sleep. At least to get his mind off of things.

* * *

><p>Roy rolled over, shifting uncomfortably in his bed. He hadn't been able to sleep very good. He just felt so guilty, and he couldn't figure out why. Ed had been on his mind all day. Something that was pretty much, scaring the living shit out of him.<p>

Roy had broken up with women before. He had relationships that ended badly. Girls having their feelings hurt. Why did this bother him and that didn't at all?

He took a deep breath and sat up. The red numbers on his alarm clock were bright and the only access of light in his room. The night was cool, a little bit chilly maybe. He threw back the covers and walked into the bathroom. He flipped on the light and rested both hands on the side of the sink.

He couldn't figure out why he was losing sleep over this. He had talked to Ed right? He apologized. So everything should be fine. He should _feel _fine. These kind of things didn't bother him. He was used to being disliked and called a bastard. Especially by Ed.

But for some reason he didn't feel fine. His stomach twisted up he shook his head trying to rid himself of these thoughts.

Every time he thought of Ed his body reacted, making his skin hot and stomach twist. He'd been ignoring it, or passing it off as something totally unrelated. He didn't want to face what those things meant.

He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. This was not what he needed to be dealing with. He just wanted to get down to the bottom of this. But the more he thought about it the more confused he got.

At first he had almost been revolted, and now… Didn't he say he like Ed?! Metaphorically?

He lifted his face to the mirror. His skin was pale and dark hair fell over his face messily. His onyx eyes were almost the same color as the dark night outside his open window.

He had to figure out why he was so worried over this. It wasn't like him at all. He didn't fret over small things like this. He didn't fret over Ed. Right?

Sure, Ed was an attractive guy. For a guy.

But there was no way he had feelings for him. Sure he's always entertaining, and he doesn't really mind seeing him, but that doesn't mean anything.

So what really drove him to accept the bet? Anyone else surely would not have gone as far as he did. The night at the bar he really hadn't minded the idea much of kissing him. In fact, it had actually been exhilarating.

Was he attracted…to Ed?

Oh shit.

He creased his eyebrows and swallowed hard. This was bad. Very bad.

He knew what attraction felt like. He'd been with plenty of beautiful woman. But they had always been more of a physical attraction. Was…was this more?

He closed his eyes tight. He had to know for sure.

He tried to think of symptoms.

_What is this some kind of disease? What's wrong with you?_

Okay, so maybe his idea of it was just a little bit off.

How did Ed make him feel?

He realized, with great dismay mind you, that the answer was probably not what he wanted to hear. He was over protective and always worried about him. He got right under his skin and made him want to rip his hair out. He loved to hear his stories, though that's something he'd never admit. But most of all, he loved to hear him talk. He loved the cocky smile that took up his whole face when he thinks he's won, and he loves….

Wait. Where the hell is this going?

Roy internally cursed himself. This wasn't right. He was into girls, he always had been.

There was something about him Roy knew, something that made everything seem to spin out of control. He took his professionalism and practically threw that straight out the window. He always wanted to be more than a boss to him. A friend maybe.

He felt like he'd come to some sort of realization. Like he finally saw something that had been there all along. Had it been there? Did he only ignore it because Ed was a guy?

His head started to spin and he felt himself get dizzy. He led himself onto the floor and rested his hot back against the cool tile wall.

He didn't dare himself to speak. If there was any chance of him going to bed then, it was completely gone now.

This wasn't what he should be feeling. He needed to fix this. This was dangerous. It was a different story  
>to be worried about your subordinates, but being attracted to them is definitely not okay. Not only that, but Ed was a guy. Roy was Centrals ladies man!<p>

His eyes opened as an idea struck him. He knew how to fix this.

He got off the bathroom floor and walked to his dresser. His pale shoulders reflected moonlight from the window. The shades were drawn and window slid open an inch. A breeze filled the room as he pulled open the first drawer.

He smiled and withdrew his small black book. This was what he needed. Inside the white glassy pages were numbers from his countless experiences with woman. Most of them he barely or did not even remember.

He turned to the back of the book, his favorite pages. They were specifically for his 'numero uno's'. When something was going on at work, or he was seriously stressed, he needed someone he didn't have to take out to dinner or spend energy on. He called them, they came, no questions asked. Then they left. Perfect.

After he made the call he felt a little better. Yeah, that was just what he needed. He felt a little more like himself. Roy didn't bother to get dressed. They wouldn't be in them for very long anyway. He only put on a little bit of cologne and put some coffee on.

He decided he just needed to get back into the swing of things here. After he got laid he'd feel completely back to normal. He was Roy Mustang; Central's leading ladies man. That's what he kept telling himself.

He practically ran the game. He shook the cheating spouse feeling he was getting and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Sure, he'd apologized, but it wasn't like he said he was in love with him or anything. And it wasn't his fault if it hurt the kid's feelings. It wasn't his business anyway. Right?

He set the tooth brush down just as he heard the doorbell ring. He smiled to himself and walked to front door. He opened it and smirked. The red head's long hair fell down to the small of her back and her sky blue eyes batted under curly thick eyelashes. She was gorgeous. As always.

He stepped aside letting the girl into the home. Without hesitation she stepped in and removed her coat, revealing sexy red and black lingerie. She was not new to this routine.

Neither of them were.

She looked at him slyly and it was just like old times.

Without hesitation she turned from him and headed up the stairs.

"Coffee?" Roy asked moving to the kitchen.

"Lovely." She answered.

He took out two glasses from his cabinet and set them on the counter. He poured the cups in silence and hastily brought them to the bedroom.

"Oh dear?" The redhead said from the bathroom. He turned to face her. A smirk crossed her lips. Just like old times.

He handed her a cup and took a sip of his before putting down on the coffee table next to the bed.

She moved around him, holding him from behind at the waist.

"Did my Roy have a bad day" she asked with pouty lips. He sighed.

"It was….rough." he said. She smiled and kissed his back seductively.

"Lets see if we can brighten it up then dah?" she asked. Her accent was as smooth as velvet, but for some reason it was really just not doing it for him tonight. He frowned and looked at the ceiling, cursing under his breath.

She creased her eyebrows and walked around looking Roy in the eyes.

"What's the matter baby? Have something else on your mind?" she asked.

For a moment he didn't say anything. He put his head in his hands and sighed.

"Yes Missey (Mi-zee). I've had a rough day indeed."

She smiled and walked around his room, picking up her coffee. She grabbed his hand and drug him into his living, setting him down on the couch. She then went and fixed them a fire.

Missey wasn't just a convenient "booty call", they had been friends for years. Pretty much his only friend out of work. She understood him more than most people did. Years ago he had considered getting in a relationship with her, but she readily refused. She giggled and said, "I don't think you even really want that."

It didn't bother him much anyway, he was okay with the way things were. Lately they hadn't seen a lot of each other but he still called every once in awhile just to check up on things.

"What is bothering you my baby" She asked worriedly as she sat beside him.

Roy leaned back on the couch and took a deep breath. This was going to be hard to explain. Here he was thinking all he needed was a booty call but the minute she shows up he can't get Ed off his mind.

"I hurt someone yesterday." He started.

"I didn't know how they felt about me and I was pretty selfish with their feelings. I don't know, now that I know, I just feel like I can't get it out of my head." He explained.

She listened and nodded her head.

"Roy baby, you've been alone for a long time." She said

"I've always got you" he interrupted smirking.

She smiled and continued, "You've been alone for a long time, In fact, I don't think I've ever seen you take a chance with anybody. Now, just because you don't feel strongly for anybody doesn't mean you're a bad person, it's just the way it is, but if this person comes in the way of you doing what you love, " she winked. "Then maybe that means it's more important to you than you think."

He listened to her words carefully and almost dreadfully. He knew she was right. Hell, she was always right.

"You can't deny yourself happiness forever." She gave him a kind smile and he returned it.

"At least," she said grabbed his hand lovingly, "At least, spend some time on it. Figure out what it really means before you just drop it."

He sighed and watched the flames from the fireplace lick and consume the wood.

_Maybe she was right. Maybe I just appreciate him as a friend and feel bad that I upset him. _

He smiled at her, "Thanks babe" he said now relieved.

"Why don't you go run us a bath" she said standing up. "I'll get us some more coffee."

He agreed and made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. She watched him until he disappeared around the corner and then turned to the kitchen.

"I hope this is finally it for him…" she sighed. There wasn't much coffee left so she decided that she'd better make another pot. She pulled over their cups and poured them full, putting a few sugar cubes in, and then took down the ground coffee to start it again. She had just started up the stairs when someone knocked.

She almost didn't answer it given it was so late but she figured it wouldn't hurt anything, she figured it might just be a late package or something. She quickly put down the glasses on the key table and shrugged her coat on loosely.

She opened the door curiously, "Yes?" she asked politely.

Roy yelled from the top the stairs, "Its ready!"

She acknowledged him quickly then turned back to the curious blonde, standing in Roy's doorway, with a troubled look on his face.


End file.
